Better Call Saul

[rico]

As I am sure many of y'all already know, a spinoff of "Breaking Bad" titled "Better Call Saul" will be airing in 2014. This is going to be a prequel to Breaking Bad and will be based on the character of Saul Goodman from "Breaking Bad."

I, for one, will be watching. I'm sure the majority of all of you other "Breaking Bad" fans will be as well. Might as well get the discussion going sooner rather than later.

So... what are your hopes, expectations and/or concerns with the show? Here are some of mine:

Hopes: I hope to see Saul do his thing in the courtroom. I hope to see strong, unique supporting characters. I hope to see Breaking Bad foreshadowing. I hope he has an intriguing paralegal and/or assistant. I hope to see Breaking Bad characters such as Fring, Mike, etc...whoever. I hope the show kicks ass.

Expectations: I don't expect it to be as good as "Breaking Bad" (because nothing else is, really), but I expect it to be good since Vince Gilligan is writing. I somewhat expect it to have an even balance of comedy and drama...since Saul undeniably provides a substantial amount of comedic relief in "Breaking Bad." I expect to see "courtroom Saul." I expect the "Breaking Bad" references and character cameos to be less than what I hope. If it isn't even a fraction as good as "Breaking Bad," I expect it to be better than 95% of everything else on TV, since there is some shitty shit on TV these days.

Concerns: I'd be a liar if I were to say that I didn't think this show has potential of flopping and certainly failing to meet the presumed high expectations of the audience. Don't get me wrong, I think it will be good... but I think it COULD suck if not executed properly. My main concern is Saul ultimately proving himself to be a "little dab will do ya" type of character, which would lead to a show centered around his character not working out. I am hoping that the character of Saul will not be so over-used and constantly over the top, that he becomes annoying to me, thus ruining his character for me altogether... Not saying I think this will be how it goes down...just saying I think there is a CHANCE of this being the case, which prompts me to believe that a strong supporting cast is VITAL in terms of the amount of success/quality this show will accumulate. All in all, I don't think VG will steer us in an unfortunate direction though...I think they'll pull it off.

Thoughts?

DISCUS!!!!

[BucEyedPea]

Finally it's back. Last season was way too short. Meager six episodes or thereabouts.

[raybec 4]

Originally Posted by stumppy

It's hell getting old isn't it ?

In BB, Saul even makes a reference to his back up plan being "Running a Cinnabon in Omaha.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Molitoth

Yeah, it's been a long time. I've def forgotten some things that happened in BB.

Yeah, when someone, I think it was Walt was looking to buy a new life, he made some crack about a cinnabon manager in Nebraska.

Well, it turns out he used that one. So the parts where he was a cinnabon manager are after BB where he's trying to hide. Remember in season 1 where he got locked in the freezer or whatever and could have called the police, but chose to wait until shift change? Yeah. That's what they're getting at. How he is coping with what he lived through.

Originally Posted by notorious

My guess is that Chuck is going to try and use the tape as leverage to keep Jimmy from practicing law.

New Mexico state board.

[kjwood75nro]

Originally Posted by Buehler445

Yeah, when someone, I think it was Walt was looking to buy a new life, he made some crack about a cinnabon manager in Nebraska.

Well, it turns out he used that one. So the parts where he was a cinnabon manager are after BB where he's trying to hide. Remember in season 1 where he got locked in the freezer or whatever and could have called the police, but chose to wait until shift change? Yeah. That's what they're getting at. How he is coping with what he lived through.



New Mexico state board.

And probably why he passed out after making a scene in front of law enforcement.

[sedated]

Originally Posted by Chiefspants

My guess is that Jimmy will be forced to go nuclear and institutionalize Chuck. Invalidating Chuck's evidence, and burning the bridges with everyone at H&M. This will kick off his transition to Saul.

I'm thinking (obviously) the tape playing to Ernesto was by design. He knows Ernesto is Jimmy's friend and has helped him before. Ernesto lets Jimmy know that Chuck has a tape of his confession, and Chuck thinks this will lead Jimmy to do something to get rid of the tape and Chuck will be waiting. But Jimmy instead goes to Mike to let a professional handle it.

[sedated]

Also, I think the scene when Saul helped the cops, then yelled at the kid to get a lawyer, is an indication that some of the show will be post-BB, possibly with him getting back into the life. The season 1 opening was him putting on the old 'better call Saul" tapes and reminiscing, so he's getting the itch. Its pretty clear he isn't too happy being a manager in a mall.

[stumppy]

Originally Posted by sedated

Also, I think the scene when Saul helped the cops, then yelled at the kid to get a lawyer, is an indication that some of the show will be post-BB, possibly with him getting back into the life. The season 1 opening was him putting on the old 'better call Saul" tapes and reminiscing, so he's getting the itch. Its pretty clear he isn't too happy being a manager in a mall.

It would be cool as hell if he just said screw this and went back to being a lawyer.

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by sedated

I'm thinking (obviously) the tape playing to Ernesto was by design.

No doubt.

I don't see how the tape can be viewed as damning anyway. Jimmy can easily say that he "finally just stated what his bro wanted to hear, because he could tell his bro was losing his shit otherwise."

... and I like the show, but it IS slooooooooowwwwwww as ****.

[Pitt Gorilla]

You're goddamn right.

[notorious]

Holy shit, the cop was in BB and BCS? That's awesome.

[B_Ambuehl]

This series is awesome. I'd never even watched breaking bad til a couple months back. I binge watched that, loved it, and figured this would be a bad spinoff but decided to watch it anyhow, and WOW, I'll be damned if it's not better than breaking bad.

[Gadzooks]

My wife and I discussed world events throughout the majority of this episode. because it...was...very...slow...
I'd forgotten the pace of these shows. We almost stopped watching BB in season 1 because of that.
When something big happens, you go "whoa, this is the best show ever", then it's back to the same old grind of watching people do things that are far more boring than what you could actually be doing yourself.
Just the scene where we're forced to watch Mike do surveillance is almost unbearable as a viewer of a "show".

Vince Gilligan needs to get this story moving to a point that it's a "show" as opposed to a visual art piece that represents New Mexico.

[Chiefspants]

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

My wife and I discussed world events throughout the majority of this episode. because it...was...very...slow...
I'd forgotten the pace of these shows. We almost stopped watching BB in season 1 because of that.
When something big happens, you go "whoa, this is the best show ever", then it's back to the same old grind of watching people do things that are far more boring than what you could actually be doing yourself.
Just the scene where we're forced to watch Mike do surveillance is almost unbearable as a viewer of a "show".

Vince Gilligan needs to get this story moving to a point that it's a "show" as opposed to a visual art piece that represents New Mexico.

Can't say I agree with much of that analysis. I'd recommend binging the show once its completed if you're struggling to get through individual episodes.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

My wife and I discussed world events throughout the majority of this episode. because it...was...very...slow...
I'd forgotten the pace of these shows. We almost stopped watching BB in season 1 because of that.
When something big happens, you go "whoa, this is the best show ever", then it's back to the same old grind of watching people do things that are far more boring than what you could actually be doing yourself.
Just the scene where we're forced to watch Mike do surveillance is almost unbearable as a viewer of a "show".

Vince Gilligan needs to get this story moving to a point that it's a "show" as opposed to a visual art piece that represents New Mexico.

Couldn't disagree more. This kind of slow burn draws me in even more. Slowly turning the screw.

[Baby Lee]

Originally Posted by Gadzooks

My wife and I discussed world events throughout the majority of this episode. because it...was...very...slow...
I'd forgotten the pace of these shows. We almost stopped watching BB in season 1 because of that.
When something big happens, you go "whoa, this is the best show ever", then it's back to the same old grind of watching people do things that are far more boring than what you could actually be doing yourself.
Just the scene where we're forced to watch Mike do surveillance is almost unbearable as a viewer of a "show".

Vince Gilligan needs to get this story moving to a point that it's a "show" as opposed to a visual art piece that represents New Mexico.

Did you see 'There Will Be Blood?' or 'The Conversation?'